"The official party entered the Equality Forum as retired Air Force Maj. Allison Hartsfield sang the national anthem, her voice echoing across a room filled with military families, advocates, and lawmakers. Roughly 200 people gathered for what would become one of the most unusual retirement ceremonies in modern U.S. military history. Retired Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith, the master of ceremonies, stepped forward and formally called the room to order."
"On Thursday, the Human Rights Campaign dedicated its headquarters in Washington, D.C., to transgender members and veterans, where approximately 200 people gathered to reckon with what advocates are calling one of the most consequential civil rights reversals in modern U.S. history. At the organization's Equality Forum, the day began with a policy panel titled Serving With Pride: The Future of Veterans' Benefits & Recognition."
Human Rights Campaign dedicated its Washington, D.C. headquarters to transgender service members and veterans and hosted an Equality Forum attended by approximately 200 people. The event opened with a policy panel on veterans' benefits and recognition and concluded with an unprecedented retirement ceremony honoring five transgender service members whose careers were abruptly ended by the Trump administration's renewed transgender military ban. Retired Maj. Allison Hartsfield sang the national anthem as families, advocates, and lawmakers listened. Retired Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith framed the ceremony as reckoning, and Shawn Skelly warned that transgender service members have become legal and political targets, calling them "canaries in the coal mine of our democracy" as civil rights groups pursue fresh court battles.
Read at Advocate.com
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